Handbook
Engineering

Engineering Onboarding

You'll set up your local environment, clone the repo, and run the app. Wilson Wilson (founder/engineer) is your primary contact for access and questions.

Pre-Setup

  1. Contact Wilson – Request GitHub repo access and environment variables

  2. Install pnpm – npm install -g pnpm (if not installed)

  3. GitHub account – Ensure you have access and can clone private repos

Setup Steps

1. Join the Repository

Wilson will send you an invite to the Ferndesk GitHub repo. Accept the invite and clone:

git clone [repo-url]
cd [repo-name]

Wilson will provide the exact repo URL when granting access.

2. Environment Variables

Copy the .env file from Wilson. Place it in the project root. It contains database credentials, API keys, and service configs.

3. Install Dependencies

pnpm install

4. Run the Application

pnpm dev

The app should start locally. Verify the URL in the terminal output (typically localhost:5173 or similar).

If install or dev fails, clear cache with pnpm store prune and retry. Contact Wilson if issues persist.

Daily Workflow

  • Testing – Run pnpm test before committing (verify command with Wilson)

  • Linting – Use pnpm lint to check code style

See the Deployment Workflow article for branching, code review, and deployment details.

Additional Access

After initial setup, request access to:

  • Planetscale – Database management and migrations

  • Railway – Deployment monitoring and logs

  • Axiom – Logs and traces

  • Cloudflare – CDN and DNS configuration

  • Linear – Issue tracking

  • Slack – Customer usage notifications

Troubleshooting

  • pnpm install fails → Clear cache: pnpm store prune

  • App won't start → Check .env variables match Wilson's template

  • Database connection errors → Verify Planetscale credentials in .env

Questions at any stage? Contact Wilson directly – he's the go-to for setup, architecture, and workflow details.

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